Deadly Numb3rs
by MistressSara
Summary: Charlie is helping Don on a case. The only issue? It's an investigation on the mob... what happens when mob finds out who Charlie is...Some CWDA and CA.
1. Chapter 1

Deadly Numb3rs

Author: Mistress Sara

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Numb3rs belongs to other people and sadly David Krumholtz doesn't belong to me either. Enjoy the story and review please.

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"Charlie?" Amita called, walking through the front door of his house. He knew she was coming and left it unlocked for her.

"Back here." She heard him reply from the kitchen. A smile formed on her face when she entered the kitchen and saw him pulling a covered tray out of the oven.

"Look at you being all domestic." She smiled.

"I just followed instructions. What kind of genius would I be if I couldn't do that?" Charlie said moving next to her and giving her a quick kiss on the lips.

"Not a very good one probably. So what are we having?"

"Take out… I think I ruined it."

"What?"

"I'm joking. I just finished making the chicken and the pasta will be done in a few minutes."

"Nice work Professor Eppes." Charlie smiled at her.

"Thanks." He said, taking off the oven mitt and moved to kiss her again. "Hungry?" He asked when they pulled away.

"Starved. It was a long day." She said, picking up two plates and two bottles of beer then carrying them out to the dining table. Charlie followed her with the dishes of food.

"Mine too." He said, sitting down at the head of the table while she took the seat to his right. "Classes?"

"Awful, I had to listen to everyone who skipped last class complain because they didn't know about the quiz. I told them that if they are absent from a class, for whatever reason, then they should check with someone who was there or come to me and find out what they missed. They don't put forth any effort and then they get mad at me." Amita ranted as she opened her bottle of beer.

"You just have to let them know that you won't tolerate any behavior like this, if they don't care enough to find out what they missed then they shouldn't bother taking it." He said, handing her a plate of food.

"Thanks." She smiled at him. "I don't want to talk about work any more. Lets just enjoy dinner."

"I can't argue with that."

"And I won't let you."

"Which movie did you rent for tonight?" He asked, starting to eat his dinner.

"Thought we'd go old school and watch Robin Hood; Prince of Thieves." She smiled taking a few bites of the food he prepared for them.

"Good choice." The two exchanged smiles and carried on some small conversations while they finished dinner. They then made their way to the living room where they got comfortable on the couch to watch the movie.

Charlie leaned against the arm of the couch and Amita put a pillow on his lap and rested her head there. His hand tangled in her hair as they sat quietly, just enjoying being together and alone for once.

It had been difficult for them lately to have any alone time between work, family, and helping Don with his latest case. Nothing was more time consuming then trying to help your FBI agent brother track down a mob boss before innocent people are murdered. That wasn't what Charlie wanted to think about at the moment.

He was too busy thinking about Amita and her head resting on his lap. "Ever notice that Kevin Costner is the only character in this movie who doesn't have a British accent."

"Maybe they hoped that no one would notice." Charlie suggested with a shrug and a smile. "That or they couldn't afford a dialect coach for him."

"Yeah, but still, you've got British people on the cast. They could've just had one of them teach him."

"I'm going to go grab some water, do you want anything?" Charlie asked.

"No, I'm good. Do you want me to pause it?" She asked, sitting up so that Charlie could get off the couch.

"That's alright, I know what happens." He said, walking to the kitchen. Amita smiled to herself as she watched him walking away. She would never tire of that view. When he disappeared behind the kitchen door she turned back to the movie but her attention was pulled away again when she heard something fall to the floor in the kitchen.

"Charlie?" She called rushing to the kitchen, her bare feet barely making contact with the hardwood floors.

"It's okay." He called back to her just as she opened the kitchen door. The stack of pots that had been sitting on the counter were now sprawled across the floor.

"What happened?"

"Uh… I just knocked into them and they fell." He said, trying to pick them up as quickly as possible. She knelt down to help him.

"You are very clumsy sometimes."

"I know…" He stammered.

"What's wrong Charlie? You seem kind of nervous about something." Amita observed out loud.

"It's nothing, lets just go back to the movie." He said, trying to move past her to get out of the kitchen.

"Nope." She said, moving in front of the door to block him from leaving. "Tell me what has got you so frazzled and I'll let you go."

"Uh… well… this wasn't exactly my ideal way of doing this but okay." He said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a blue box. "I got this for you."

Amita's expression softened as he slipped the box into her hands. She slowly opened the box to find a small, golden flower pendant on a thin linked chain. "It's beautiful." She gasped, taking it from the box and handing it to him. "Here put it on me."

Charlie smiled when she turned her back to him and pulled her hair up so that he could see what he was doing. "There." She turned to face him again.

"Thank you Charlie." Amita smiled, leaning up and kissing him.

"You're welcome. I saw it and thought of you." He replied before pulling her into another kiss. "And I thought when I gave it to you would be the right time."

"The right time for what?" Amita asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Right time for me to tell you that I love you."

She looked at him slightly slack jawed. Tears were faintly glimmering in her eyes, "Charlie do you mean that?"

"Of course I do." He smiled at her and kissed her again, this time the kiss lasted longer, until the need for oxygen forced them apart.

"I love you too." They continued to kiss, somewhat unaware that they were standing in the kitchen until Amita went to lean on the wall and ended up leaning against the swinging door which landed her on the floor with Charlie on top of her.

"Maybe we should try this somewhere a little safer." Charlie suggested, standing up and pulling her with him.

"Good idea." The two made their way to Charlie's room with out any more accidents.

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"Charlie, you left the TV on last night. Charlie are you up?" Alan Eppes called, knocking on his son door before opening it. His jaw dropped when he saw his youngest son curled up on his bed with Amita.

Alan turned away quietly, letting them sleep. A blush had crept on the man's face; this wasn't exactly the way that he needed to see his son. Shaking his head he made his way down to the kitchen and began to make breakfast for three.

A little while later the Charlie woke up and was a little thrown at first to feel someone next to him. He smiled when he looked down and saw Amita. "You haven't been watching me sleep have you?" She asked without opening her eyes.

"No, I just woke up too." He said, his voice still scratchy with sleep.

"Okay." She replied, wanting nothing more then to stayed curled up with Charlie and sleeping. "What time is it?" She asked grudgingly.

Charlie sat up and turned to his nightstand. "It's 6:45… I have to meet Don at 7:30."

"I have a class to teach at 8." Amita sighed. "I guess we probably have to get up then."

"I think we might. Come on, I'll make you something for breakfast."

"Smells like something is already cooking." She said, sitting up next to him and looking around the room for her clothes.

"Probably my dad." Charlie said absently, walking over to his chest of drawers to get a change of clothes.

Down stairs Alan had started to make breakfast for his son and his girlfriend. He figured that that term would be safe to use now. "Hey dad." Charlie said, coming into the kitchen, followed by a blushing Amita.

"Morning Mr. Eppes."

"Please Amita, call me Alan."

"Morning Alan." She corrected herself.

"Good morning Amita. Grab a plate, breakfast is ready." He said gesturing to a stack of three plates at the end of the counter.

"How'd you know there would be three of us?" Charlie asked.

"I saw Amita's car out front so I just assumed." Alan lied. The three ate their breakfast with a minimal amount of small talk. Charlie and Amita left at the same time, Amita was off to Cal Sci and Charlie was going to meet with Don.

Charlie was in such a good mood that he didn't realize that a black SUV followed him all the way from his house to FBI offices. He saw his brother standing outside waiting for him. "Hey Don." Charlie greeted walking from his car.

"Charlie did you get my message?" Don asked.

"No, what message…" Charlie was cut off by the sound of gunshots.

It all happened so quickly, as soon as the gunshots stopped the black SUV sped away. "What the hell was that? ...Charlie? …Charlie?" Don looked over to where his brother had ducked.

Charlie was lying on the ground, blood seeping from two bullet wounds. "Oh my God." Don rushed to his brother's side, pulling out his phone and calling for an ambulance. "Come on buddy hold in there." He held his hand against the wound below his shoulder. "Charlie?"

Charlie slipped into shock; the only thing that was on his mind as he lost consciousness was Amita…

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That's all for this chapter, reviews please.


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for the reviews; nothing can brighten a bad day like good reviews.

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Chapter 2

"Alright guys, that's all for today. Have a good weekend and be sure to study for the test on Monday." Amita said, closing her notebook and setting it down on the front desk. The students filed out of the room as Amita sat down in her chair to look through the assignments that had been turned in.

She sat there undisturbed for a few moments until there was a knock at her classroom door. "Larry, hi." She smiled, looking up to see the timid Professor Fleinhardt.

"Hello Amita, how was your class today?" He asked, coming into the room.

"It went well. Have you had any classes yet this morning?" She asked, standing up and putting the papers she had collected into a folder.

"Not yet. Actually I was wondering if you had seen Charles this morning? He wasn't in his office and he had some equations that he was going to go over for me last night." Amita blushed at both parts of the question. Remembering how both the morning and evening were spent with Charlie.

"Uh, he had to go see Don this morning and said that he would be back here around 11." Amita said, avoiding eye contact with Larry by looking down at her watch, it was now 11:30. "That's odd, he should be back by now."

"I was just going to go check his office again."

"I'll come with you." Amita said, slinging her lap top bag over her shoulder and following Larry to the well-known office of Charlie Eppes. "Did you try his cell?" She asked as they entered the empty office.

"Yes, there was no answer." Larry said, one of his hands resting across his chin while the other cradled his elbow. This was his usual stance for thinking.

"I'll give it a try." Amita said, pulling her own cell phone from her back pocket and hitting the speed dial that Charlie's number was programmed under. The phone rang…

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Megan watched as Don climbed into the ambulance after they loaded the gurney that Charlie was strapped to. As they pulled away she heard something… a phone on the ground was ringing. She recognized it as Charlie's… her stomach fell when she saw Amita's name on the caller ID.

"Hello." She answered.

_"Megan?" _Came Amita's confused voice.

"Yeah."

_"Did Charlie leave his phone again? He's always doing that."_

"Uhm… Amita that's not it. Where are you right now?" Megan asked.

_"Larry and I are in Charlie's office, why what's wrong?" _Her voice was suddenly tinged with panic.

"Something has happened, just stay there, I'll be over in five minutes."

_"Is Charlie all right?" _She asked. _"Megan, is Charlie all right?" _She repeated herself.

"Stay there I'll be right over." Megan hung up the phone and rushed to her SUV. It was a quick drive to Cal Sci, ignoring traffic laws made it easy. She all but ran to Charlie's office and opened the door to find Amita sitting in the chair behind Charlie's desk and Larry nervously pacing the length of the room.

"Megan!" Amita exclaimed, standing up. "What is going on?"

"There was a shooting, Charlie's been shot. Don's with him at the hospital right now." Megan said gently. She watched as Amita paled and the tears filled her eyes.

"Is he… he's going to be okay right?" Amita stumbled over her words.

"We don't know anything yet."

Larry too had paled, he was deeply concerned for Charlie and at the moment he became concerned for Amita as well. When he noticed her balance beginning to waver he rushed over to offer her support. He pulled her into a hug and let her headrest against his shoulder as she cried.

Megan watched her boyfriend do this. Moved by the affection that he had for Amita. She had never seen him interact with someone like this. Her gaze moved to the floor, trying to hold back her own tears and trying to get the image of Charlie covered with blood out of her head. "We need to get to the hospital." She said.

Amita just nodded and allowed Larry to keep a supportive arm around her, so she could keep some form of balance. They followed Megan out to the car, Amita seemed to have entered a stage of shock and needed some help getting into the SUV.

Megan had just climbed into the driver's seat when her own cell phone began to ring. "Reeves." She answered.

_"Hey Megan it's Don." _His voice was lacking any tone, it was almost numb sounding.

"Don, what's going on? How's Charlie?" Amita looked up at the mention of his name.

_"I don't know, they took him into surgery and I haven't heard anything since."_

"Okay, well I just picked up Amita and Larry, we were on our way there."

_"Megan could you pick up my dad? I called him and told him what happened, he told me to stay here until we found out more."_

"Yeah, I'll go get him right now."

_"Thanks… I'll see you soon I guess." _He said blankly. Megan closer her phone and put it aside.

"We need to go get Alan." Amita felt more tears beginning to fall when she thought of Alan and the good mood he had been in this morning when he was making them all breakfast. The drive to the Eppes house felt like an eternity.

Finally they pulled up to the curb to find that Alan was waiting out on the porch for them. He quickly made his way to the car and climbed into the back with Amita. The ride to the hospital was in silence. Megan was trying to focus on the road, Larry stared blankly out the windshield, Amita was trying to control her tears while one hand fidgeted with the necklace that Charlie had given her, and Alan observed them all.

He had made a resolve to himself that he would be strong for his family, for his sons. That's what was needed right now, someone strong. Amita was obviously upset, but instead of saying anything Alan just rested one of his hands on top of the one laying on the seat.

She slowly looked down at their hands then up at Alan's face. He just gave her a nod of reassurance and squeezed her hand. The car pulled to a stop and they all went inside. Amita had stopped crying although she still looked incredibly pale.

They found Don sitting in the operating room waiting chairs. "Donnie." Alan said going to his eldest son and pulling him into a hug. Don grasped at his dad and held tightly. "Have you heard anything yet?" The two pulled away, Don retook his former seat and Alan took the one across from him.

"Nothing. They took him into surgery."

"What happened?" Larry asked, speaking for the first time in while.

"He was just walking to meet me… I had left him a message earlier that morning telling him to go right inside because we received a threat from the mob organization we've been trying to get…" Don was leaning forward, he arms resting on his legs, and he was trying desperately to keep his emotions in check. "I saw him standing outside and went out to get him… before we could get inside there were gunshots… I thought he had gotten out of the way. I saw him go towards a pillar and I tried to get some shots off at the car... It's my fault."

"It's not your fault Don." Alan said, leaning forward and putting a hand on his son's knee. "It is not your fault, you thought he was safe, you can't blame yourself for this."

"I'm so sorry dad." Don said, he felt tears stinging his eyes but fought him as hard as he could. Alan moved to the seat next to him and put an arm around him, pulling him into a hug.

"Don, it's not your fault."

Amita started to cry again as she saw the exchange between Alan and Don. "Come on Amita. Lets go get some fresh air." Larry said, helping her up. She just nodded and walked out to the sliding doors. "Amita… something else is upsetting you."

"I know… it's my fault… it's my fault that Charlie didn't get that message… he wouldn't have been standing out there… it's my fault…" Amita said as she began to openly sob as Larry pulled her back into an embrace, a look of confusion on his face.

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Ah Ha! Intrigue. More is on the way. Reviews please.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

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"Amita, it is not your fault." Larry said as she pulled away from his embrace.

"Yes it is. I… I was with Charlie this morning…"

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"I suppose calling in sick isn't an option." Amita said, climbing out of the bed and locating her clothing.

"It might be suspicious if we both call in sick." Charlie smiled as he pulled his shirt over his head.

"We could just say that the pit of stuff in you room swallowed us." She joked, pulling her pants on.

"My room isn't that bad…." Charlie stopped and looked around his room. There were books and papers stacked on the floor, clothing was thrown over the back of a chair and the laundry basket in the corner was over flowing. "Okay, it is pretty bad. Good thing that you don't love me for my cleaning abilities."

"That's right. I love you for your math skills and the curly hair." She laughed, crossing the room so that she was standing in front of him.

"Good to know." He replied before pulling her into a kiss. Like the night before the kiss began to progress and they found themselves on the bed.

_Ring Ring_

"I should get that." Charlie muttered, between kisses.

"Or you could just let it go to voice mail."

"I could just let it go to voice mail." He agreed, pressing his lips against hers again…

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"I told him not to answer the phone… it was Don calling to tell him about the threat… it's my fault." Amita confessed, her voice breaking and more tears flowing from her eyes.

Larry looked around and noticed a bench nearby. He put his hand on her back and led her towards the bench. They sat down together. "Amita, this is not your fault… there is no possible way that either of you could have known that it was Don calling. Let alone know that he was calling to tell Charlie that a threat had been made. You can't blame yourself for this."

"My common sense tells me that you're right… but I still…"

"I've known Charlie for a long time now and I feel confident in saying that he would think that you are completely mistaken blaming yourself for what has happened. No one thinks that you are at fault because you prevented him from answering his phone. The message was on there and he could have checked it any time." Larry was hopeful that his words helped in relieving Amita's guilt.

She nodded in agreement with what he had said. "We should probably get back inside." She said suddenly, standing up and walking towards the doors. Larry walked along side her and they made their way back to the waiting room.

"Where did Megan and Don go?" Amita asked, sitting down in a chair next to Alan while Larry sat down across from them.

"David called, they got a lead on the shooters." Alan said softly.

"Any news on Charlie?" Amita asked just as Larry opened his mouth to ask the same question.

"Nothing yet… last that Don heard they had taken him into surgery."

"Do we know the extent of his wounds?" Larry asked.

"Shot twice. One was near his right shoulder and the second was in his left leg." Alan said with a blank tone.

"Are you here for Charles Eppes?" A young nurse asked, she was wearing scrubs that had a few spots of blood randomly dispersed.

"Yes, how is he?" Alan asked quickly. The nurse sat down in the chair next to Larry, she leaned forward with her forearms resting on her knees.

"We were able to remove both of the bullets and he's currently stabilized. The next 24 hours are going to be extremely critical, right now he's unconscious. Things look good right now."

"Can we see him?" Amita asked.

"I can let you go in one at a time." The nurse said standing up and waiting for them to decide who would go first.

"Go ahead Alan." Amita said when he turned to suggest that she go.

"Thanks." He said pressing a kiss against her forehead the way he would if she were his daughter… maybe some day she would be his daughter-in-law, an old man could hope. Alan stood and followed the nurse behind the doors that led to Charlie's room.

"Let me know if you need anything." The nurse said stopping outside of a single door.

"Thank you nurse." Alan said. He slowly opened the door and entered the room. His son was lying in the hospital bed, wires and tubes connected machines to Charlie's sleeping form. It was painful to see his son like this but Alan continued into the room and sat in the chair next to the bed.

"You gave us quite the scare Charlie." Alan softly said to his unconscious son. "Never do that again… we couldn't loose you yet... I think you scared Amita most of all. Don't think I've ever seen someone cry so much. You must have done something right with her to have her so concerned… I'll go get her; she's probably climbing the walls waiting to see you… I love you son."

Alan quietly stood up and walked to the door. There he turned and looked at his son before leaving the room. When Charlie was a little boy and Alan would tuck him in at night he would always look back and make sure that Charlie hadn't hidden any math books around his bed. He used to wait until his parents left his room then spend most of the night studying his textbooks.

"Alan?" Amita looked confused to see Charlie's father return so quickly.

"Go ahead in and see him." Alan said retaking his seat in the waiting room. Amita just nodded and quickly stood up to find Charlie's room.

Amita walked down the fluorescently lit corridor and found the door that led to his room. Her eyes adjusted to the slightly dimmer room and focused on Charlie. She moved across the room in silence and took the seat that Alan had left next to the bed. He was still… it was one of the few times that he wasn't bouncing back and forth between chalk boards or explaining equations at high speeds.

If it were under different circumstances Amita would have thought he looked endearing. Her hand softly took hold of his, careful of the tubes. "They said that you're going to be okay." She whispered softly to him, trying to hold back her tears.

"I'm glad… you really scared me…. You can't do this again because I might have to kill you myself." Amita looked down at their entwined hands; actually hers was wrapped around his limp hand. "I love you Charlie… we just figured that out, I can't loose you now."

Amita stood up and then leaned down over the bed to press a small kiss against Charlie's lips. "I'm going to go now, but I'll be back later. Besides I think Larry wants to get in here and visit you. I love you." She said again, giving him another kiss before leaving the room.

Just as the door closed behind her she ran into somebody. "Oh sorry." She said, not really looking up at the large man she had bumped into.

"No problem Miss Ramajuan." Said the deep, slow voice. Amita looked up when this stranger used her last name. He was a large man both horizontally and vertically, his black suit stretched across his wide shoulders. That's when Amita noticed that his hands were grasped around her wrists.

"What are you doing?" Amita was shocked.

"We're going to go have a little chat about your Professor friend." He said beginning to drag her away. As the man pulled Amita down the hall Charlie's eyes slowly opened…

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Thanks so much for all the reviews! I love them! Keep them coming, a new chapter is hopefully coming soon.


	4. Chapter 4

Wow…. In response to vigorous reviews here's the next chapter.

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Chapter 4

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"Why do you want to talk about Charlie?" Amita asked as she struggled to loosen the grip that the man had on her.

The man pulled her to a near by elevator and shoved her inside. He hit the emergency stop button, trapping them there. "My boss sent me to find out what kind of damage we did to the Professor. So start talking."

"Uh… he's stable for the moment… but the nurse said that things are critical right now." Amita struggled to get the words out.

"Now that wasn't so hard was it? Although I was also told to leave a little reminder that the Davin Family are serious about keeping the FBI off their back."

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Don had walked through the sliding doors that led to the hospital when a large man rushing out, almost knocking him down. "Watch where you're going!" Don called after the guy then continuing towards the elevators.

When the doors opened Don was shocked to find Amita lying unconscious on the elevator floor, blood was oozing from a cut on her forehead and a bruise was beginning to swell below her right eye. "Oh my God." Don rushed to her side. "Amita?"

She wasn't waking up. Quickly Don scooped her up in her arms and ran back into the hallway from which he had just came. "Some one help me please!" Don shouted, catching the attention of a near by nurse.

"What happened to her?" The nurse asked running over to help Don with Amita.

"I don't know I was just getting into the elevator and I found her lying on the floor in there."

"Put her down on the gurney." The nurse instructed. "We'll take her to the trauma room. Do you know her?"

Don was rushing along with the gurney and the nurse towards the room she had mentioned. "Her name's Amita Ramajuan."

They had arrived at the trauma; a doctor had come in and was checking for any response from Amita. "Can you here me? Amita?" He pulled out a flashlight and checked her eyes for any movement. "What happened to her?"

"He found her in the elevator, she was unconscious and bleeding." The nurse replied.

"We'll clean up the cut, get an ice pack for the swelling under her eye, then check her for a concussion." The doctor said. "Is she family?" He asked, looking at Don.

"No, but she's as good as. She's my brother's girlfriend."

"What was she doing at the hospital?"

"By brother was brought in earlier, he had been shot."

"You're Don Eppes?" The doctor asked.

"Yeah. Why?"

"Your brother's doctor was down here a few minutes ago. Professor Eppes woke up." Don looked at the man before him slightly slack jawed.

"I need to run upstairs real quick. Someone will be right down to stay with Amita." He said, rushing out of the room before the doctor could say anything in response.

Don ran as quickly as he could up the main staircase. He made it to the waiting room where Larry and Alan were still sitting. "Don, what is it?" Alan asked, surprised by his son's brash entrance.

"The doctor down stairs said that Charlie was awake."

"He is? Amita has been in there with him."

"No she hasn't. She's down in one of the trauma rooms. Someone attacked her on the elevator." Don said quickly.

"I'll go down with Amita." Larry said quickly, standing up and rushing down the stairs. Alan silently stood up and walked towards the corridor leading to Charlie's room, Don in tow.

They walked into the room to find a nurse standing over Charlie's bed. "You've got visitors." She smiled, walking out of the room. Charlie looked up at his father and brother, his face fell slightly.

"How are you feeling Charlie?" Alan asked walking over to his son and resting a hand on his shoulder.

"Like I've been shot… where's Amita?" Charlie asked.

Alan and Don exchanged worried glances. "Uh… she's down stairs with Larry." Don said, moving to the other side of the bed.

"What's wrong?" Charlie asked, his voice was rough from just waking up and added to the note of desperation in his tone.

"Amita was attacked." Don said slowly, hoping to soften the blow some how.

"What?" Charlie was shocked.

"I was on my way up to see you and got into the elevator… she was lying in there unconscious."

"Well is she okay?"

"They're working on her right now. She's got a cut on her forehead and her cheek is a little swollen. But the doctor said that she'll be fine."

"And Larry's with her?" Charlie asked, worried at the thought of Amita being alone right now.

"Larry is with her. She's going to be fine Charlie." Alan said, his voice more reassuring to his son then Don's was.

"Can I see her?"

"We'll have Larry bring her up when they finish her stitches." Don said, standing up. "In fact, I'll go make sure that everything is going alright."

"Who would want to attack her…" Charlie asked after Don had left the room and he was left alone with his father.

"Isn't it obvious? Your girlfriend is attacked the same day you're shot, that family in the case you were helping Don with is trying to make their point."

Charlie hadn't thought of that and his facial expression conveyed so. "Don's gotta find these people." He finally said.

"He will son, you know he will." Alan said, again with his reassuring tone. Before they could say anymore the door opened.

"Someone wanted to see you." Don said, making his way to hold the door opened for someone. Charlie looked at the person in shock.

"Mom?"

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Shocker! Bet ya didn't see that one coming. Review please.

R-E-V-I-E-W-S My anti-drug… wait that's suppose to be David Krumholtz…


	5. Chapter 5

Thanks for the reviews, they are extremely appreciated.

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Chapter 5

"Charlie… hey buddy wake up." Don's voice came.

"Huh…" Charlie's eyes opened and quickly shifted towards the door.

"Are you all right? We were talking and then you just fell asleep."

"Oh… yeah I'm fine." Charlie said, rubbing his eyes in confusion. "I thought I saw mom… where did dad go?"

Don took a moment to think about what his brother had said before answering his question. "Dad went down to check on Amita. They're going to bring her up in a little bit." He explained.

"How was she doing when you went down?"

"They were just finishing up her stitches and checking for concussions… you really care about her don't you?"

"Yeah… last night I told her that I love her."

"Hey that's a big step Charlie, I'm guessing it went well."

"Really well." Charlie replied with a small smile.

"Okay I don't need to hear any more of that." Don said quickly cutting his brother off from saying anything else. Charlie smiled and held back a small laugh, he was still sore from the stitches and laughing only furthered that sore feeling.

"Don… do you know who attacked Amita?"

"We've got a pretty good idea. When I was coming in to the hospital earlier and a guy was rushing out. Megan and David are getting the footage right now."

"What about… the guys who shot me?"

"The outside security camera got pictures of the SUV and some witnesses were able to give us the license plate numbers. Colby is working on tracking down the SUV and then we should be able to get whoever these people are… I'm going to have to get a statement from Amita when she gets up here… I figured that you'd want to be with her."

"Yeah… thanks."

"Sure thing." Before they could continue their conversation the door opened and Larry walked in backwards, guiding a wheel chair through the doorframe.

"This is really unnecessary Larry, I can walk." Amita protested as he slowly wheeled the chair into the room.

"The doctor said that you should take it easy, I think that walking should count." Larry said with a very matter-of-fact tone.

"Hey Charlie." Amita smiled when she saw he was propped up in his bed.

"Hi… are you okay?" he asked.

"Fine… you?" Charlie shrugged and gave her a weak smile.

"Uhm… why don't we leave you two alone for a minute." Don suggested from the doorway. Don and Larry nodded then followed Alan out of the room.

As soon as they were gone Amita stood up and walked to Charlie's bedside. Before either of them could realize it Amita had leaned down and pressed a kiss against Charlie's lips. One hand rested against his cheek. "You scared the hell out of me."

"You scared me too. I woke up and you weren't here… they said you were attacked… are you really okay?" He asked, brushing some stray hairs away from her face.

"I'm really okay. I'm more worried about you. Megan called and was so cryptic… she said that something happened to you and that she would come right over to talk to Larry and I…" Amita sat down on the edge of the bed and took hold of one of his hands.

"Don said that they need to question you about what happened… he said that I could be with you when they do it."

"I want you to be with me." Amita smiled, clutching his hand tightly.

"Good. Of course if they don't give your statement soon I might be with you in the comatose sense. They turn on the morphine in half an hour."

"Hmm… a drugged up math professor… I might need to find a camcorder." Both appreciated the moment of humor. Amita leaned down and kissed him again. "You aren't in a lot of pain are you?"

"A little, but you make me feel better… I'm sorry you got pulled into this."

"Charlie it isn't your fault, there was nothing that you could have done to stop what happened." Amita said, finding that this conversation was all too familiar to the one she had had before with Larry.

"Hey, sorry to interrupt you two but the nurse says that Charlie is going to be doped up in about half an hour. So I need to get Amita's statement if we're going to get it tonight." Don said, peaking into the room.

"Sure thing, come on in Don." Charlie said, his voice still sounded rough even with the ice chips that the nurse had said he could have.

Don came in, careful to close the door behind him. Amita remained sitting on the edge of Charlie's bed, holding his hand (an action that did not go unnoticed by Don). He took a seat in the chair next to the bed and turned to Amita.

"I just need you to tell me everything that you remember." Don said, pulling out his notepad and a pen.

"Uh well… I was in here with Charlie and I was getting up to go so that Larry could come in for a few minutes. When I got out into the hallway this man grabbed and said that he wanted to talk to me about Charlie. He knew my name which kind of threw me… he grabbed me by the wrists and pulled me into the elevator with him."

"Do you think you could give a description?"

"Yeah… so he took me into the elevator and hit the emergency stop button. He started asking me about Charlie and saying stuff about how his boss sent him to make sure that they got their message across. Then he said that he was told to leave a little reminder as to why the FBI should back off… he hit me with the back of his hand…

-Flashback-

"You are a pretty little thing aren't you? I bet the younger professor was at a loss to have you in his bed." Amita looked up at the man in shock, how did he know about her and Charlie. "Oh don't look so shocked. You think we don't have our own resources? Think that FBI are the only ones who can bug a house?"

Amita paled. If they had bugged Charlie's house that meant that they had heard everything that happened last night. Before Amita could reply to the man something hard made contact with her head. She didn't really feel the second blow but she did feel the blood beginning to trickle down her forehead.

-End Flashback-

"I'm going to go call the office and get someone over to the house to find those bugs." Don said quickly, standing up and pulling out his phone. He went into the hallway to make the call once again leaving Charlie and Amita alone.

"So… they bugged the house." Charlie said slowly, the idea of someone listening to what had happened between the two of them last night kinda freaked him out. He was fairly confident that Amita was thinking the same things that he was.

"Yup. Which means they heard us last night."

"Yup."

"Well… if they did hear us last night then they know that you weren't at a loss." Amita said, hoping to lighten the mood. Charlie looked up at her with slightly surprised eyes. "Don't look so shocked Charlie."

"I want you to stay at the house tonight when they finish finding the bugs." Charlie said.

"Are you sure?" Amita asked, slightly taken back by the request although she didn't really know why.

"Very sure. You can stay in my room."

"Okay." She nodded.

Before Charlie could say anything back the nurse came into the room. "It's about that time Professor Eppes." She said walking over to the IV drip and pulling out a needle. With precision of someone who had done this before, she injected the needle of medication. "You should be out with in a few minutes." She said before leaving the room again.

Amita watched as Charlie's eyes slowly began to loose focus and his head began to move in strange directions. "You're _very _pretty." Charlie said with a slight slur, he was still holding her hand. "Wow! I was shot today! How weird is that? I bet that there are like… crazy, statistical numbers about that… hey am I suppose to be feeling sleepy like this?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'd say that stuff is working pretty well." Amita laughed. "I'm going to go now. I love you." She said leaning down and kissing him one last time.

"I love you too Amita… did I tell you how pretty you are?" He asked through half closed eyes.

"Yes you did."

"Well you are." He muttered as his head fell against the pillow and he drifted into sleep. Amita smiled at him and brushed a curl away from his forehead. She left the room and found Don in the waiting room with Alan, Larry, and Megan.

"Is he doing alright?" Larry asked.

"Yeah, that morphine works fast." Amita said with a small smile.

"Well let's all head home." Alan said standing up. While everyone else was collecting their things he took Amita gently by the arm and took her towards the doors. "Amita… If you want you could stay at the house tonight, it might be safer."

"Actually Charlie already suggested that I stay at the house with you guys tonight." Amita said, looking up at Alan with a small smile.

"Good, so you'll stay?"

"Yeah… it would be too weird to go back to my apartment alone tonight." Amita admitted.

"Hey that was Colby calling from the house with the tech crew. They found something other then just bugs…"

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Ooo, intrigue. Reviews please.


	6. Chapter 6

Reviews are awesome, thanks so much…

Did you read my mind luvnumb3rs?

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Chapter 6

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"What else did they find?" Alan asked, a look of concern crossing his face.

"They found video recorders." Don said, trying not to make eye contact with Amita. "The recorders they used have a chip in them and they store the information. If we can find a way to play them we can go back and see when they were installed."

"Where were the cameras at?" Amita asked, feeling a blush was slowly creeping onto her face.

"Kitchen, living room, dining room, garage, and… Charlie's bedroom." That sped up the blush on Amita's face.

"Did the cameras have transmitters on them?" This question came from Alan. Don avoided asking the question of how his dad knew about transmitters for spy cameras.

"They didn't, which means that they haven't seen anything, assuming that this was the first set of cameras they've installed."

"Is it safe to go back to the house tonight?" Alan asked, Amita had stopped listening to the conversation. She was more concerned about someone having watched Charlie and herself in their private moments.

"Yeah it'll be fine. The crew finished sweeping the house for bugs and we got all of them out. Amita are you going to stay at the house tonight?"

"Yeah." Amita answered quickly, still avoiding eye contact with both Alan and Don.

"I'll drop you too off at the house then, I'm going to run over to the office and see what they can find off the videos." Don said, pulling his car keys from his pocket. Alan, Amita, and Don left the hospital. Megan had convinced Larry to stay the night at her apartment instead of staying in his office again.

"Are you staying here tonight Don?" Alan asked his son who had walked to the door with them.

"Yeah, I'll be back over when I'm done at the office."

"Okay. Be careful."

"I will be. There's a plan clothes agent parked in the van over there incase anything happens."

Alan just nodded then walked into the house. Amita had already gone in, she had hung up her coat and was sitting somewhat stiffly in one of the large lounge chairs near the couch. "I'm starving, do you want something to eat?"

"Uh… sure." Amita said quietly. Alan stood up and walked to the kitchen, slightly aware that she was following him. "Do you need any help?" She asked.

Alan was going through the fridge hoping to find something eatable. "Could you grab some plates please, they're in…"

"I know where they are." Amita said in her soft tone of voice. She turned to the cabinet and pulled out two plates.

"You know your way around this kitchen." Alan commented.

"Spend enough time here." She replied with a small laugh.

"I'm… I'm glad that you and Charlie have gotten closer this year."

"So am I." Amita said, giving him a smile as she set the plates down on the counter next to the fridge.

"I haven't seen him this happy in a long time… since his mother past away."

"What was she like? Mrs. Eppes, I never really hear much about her."

Alan was silent for a moment then began to speak. "Margaret… she was a wonderful wife… loved those boys more then anything in the world… Charlie always needed a lot of help growing up; being a young genius isn't easy… she was always able to connect with him. Charlie adored her, we all took it hard when she passed away but Charlie took it the worse. He spent so much time in that garage… working on that damn P vs. P or whatever it is."

"Sounds like Charlie… when in doubt P vs. P."

"Last time he was working on it was when you told him that you were considering taking the job at Harvard."

"Really?" Amita asked in surprise.

"Really. He was in there for two days straight working on it. I finally got Larry to go in there and talk some sense into him." Alan said, pulling a container of food out of the fridge and beginning to prepare it.

Amita fell silent. The only conversation that was small talk and goodnights. Alan went to his own bedroom and Amita was sleeping in Charlie's room. She had grabbed one of his t-shirts from the chest of drawers and put it on to sleep in.

It was somewhat uncomfortable to be in Charlie's room without him being in there with her. It almost felt like she was intruding on his space. However she did enjoy having a chance to look around, since the last time she was in there she was somewhat preoccupied.

The room was a mess, that fact hadn't escaped her the first time there. Of course she wasn't too bothered by it especially when they were in there last night. If there weren't so many stacks of papers and books everywhere it would have been a very spacious room.

He had a few posters hanging up; the usual pin ups for a math professor. Einstein, Revenge of the Nerds, and of course The White Stripes. There was a desk pushed up against the wall opposite the bed, Amita wandered over and looked down at the covered surface. Papers with equations scribbled incoherently on them, lecture notes, and to weigh it all down a Rubik's cube.

She continued around the room to the chest of drawers, which was squeezed into the small space between the two windows. There were framed pictures on top of the chest. A few family pictures with Don and Alan, one large one of Charlie with his mother, and one that shocked her… it was a picture of the two of them from one of the dinners that were often held at the Eppes home.

Charlie really did love her… not that she had any doubts about his feelings for her. Once he got through his bout of girl-shyness his feelings became extremely clear. Amita smiled thinking of the previous night, her hand absently went to chain around her neck.

Amita began to realize how tired she was; it had been a long day after all. Within the last day and a half… glancing at the clock showed that it had actually become two days. So within the last two days she and Charlie had confessed their feelings for each other, made love, Charlie had been shot, through an operation, she had been attacked, and questioned. That would make anyone tired.

She made her way to the bed that was neatly made, a strong contrast to the mess that engulfed the rest of the room. Pulling back the sheets she had slept between the night before, except this time Charlie wouldn't be curled up beside her, wrapping his arms around her. The sheets were cold but soft, just as she remembered them.

Being in Charlie's room was strange but at the same time it was oddly comforting. She was surrounded by his things, by the smell of his cologne; even his shirt was around her. This calmed her mind and helped her ease into sleep.

Amita didn't usually have dreams but she did tonight. She had nightmares, her subconscious decided to cruel. Decided to show her Charlie shot and bleeding, laying on the sidewalk outside of the FBI offices. Or their friends asking her why she didn't let him answer his phone, why she wanted Charlie shot. Even the large man in the elevator made an appearance only this time he did a lot more then smack her around.

Suddenly Amita felt herself being shook. She woke to find Alan standing over her. "Amita, are you alright?" He asked looking down at her with concern.

"Uh… fine… why?" She asked, looking at him with confusion.

"You were crying and kept shouting Charlie's name in your sleep." Alan said, sitting down at the edge of the bed. "Are you sure you're okay."

"Fine, just having a nightmare." She replied, a hand going up to wipe the tears away from her cheeks.

Alan just nodded. "I know."

"Did Don come back yet?" Amita asked suddenly when she noticed the time illuminated on the clock on the nightstand.

"I… I don't think so. I didn't hear him come in." Alan said, getting up and walking down the hall to Don's bedroom. When he saw it was empty he grabbed the phone and quickly dialed the number.

_"You've reached Don Eppes, I'm not able to come to the phone right now. Leave your name, number, and brief message and I'll get back to you as soon as possible."_

"That's odd…" Alan thought to himself, dialing the number again. Once again he got the voice mail message…

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That's all for right now. Reviews s'il vous plait.


	7. Chapter 7

Thanks for the reviews. Sorry it has taken so long to update. Did everyone LOVE Waste Not? So good! They had to have Charlie and Amita making out because they couldn't afford a new chick for Don to do it with. Not that I'm complaining mind you. Ha.

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Chapter 7

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"Nothing?" Amita asked, watching as Alan hung up the phone and dialed again.

"Not yet." Alan replied, waiting against as the phone rang.

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Don sat in the chair next to his brother's bed. "I'm so sorry about all of this Charlie." He said to his sleeping brother, Don had one of his hands resting in his lap while he rested his head against the other hand. "I should've taken better care of you…" He admitted with a guilt-ridden tone.

The whole day Don had been feeling guilty about his brother being shot. He had been standing right next to him… why didn't they shoot him? Why did his little brother have to be the one lying here?

Charlie moved a little in his sleep, trying to make himself comfortable. Because of where he was shot he was unable to sleep on his stomach like usual. "… mita…."

"Mita?" Don repeated with a look of confusion on his face. "Amita… Oh geez." He quickly pulled out his cell phone. _3 Missed Calls; Dad. _

"I thought you would be here." Don tuned to see Amita standing in the doorway. "Alan went to see if you were at the office still, I said that I would check here." She said, walking into the room.

"Sorry about that. I had just stopped by to check on him."

"It's alright…" Amita walked over to the other side of Charlie's bed and looked down at him. "Have you noticed that the only time he's sitting still is when it's drug induced?"

Don laughed. "We should probably get back over to the house. I don't want dad to worry more then he has to." He said, standing up. It was then that he noticed that Amita had unconsciously taken Charlie's hand in her own.

"Yeah. I have two classes to teach tomorrow, plus I'm helping cover Charlie's classes now." She said, looking at Charlie while she spoke. Quietly she let go of his hand and followed Don out of the room.

They went back to the house where Alan was waiting for them. "Donnie, where have you been?" Alan asked in his concerned tone, standing up to hug his elder son.

"I'm sorry dad. I was on my way here and stopped by to check on Charlie." Don explained.

"Just call next time and let me know when you're going to be so late." Alan scolded. "How was Charlie?"

"Asleep."

"I'm going to follow his example." Amita said.

"We all should. It's been a long day." Alan agreed. Don just nodded. Amita said goodnight and went upstairs while Alan and Don made sure that the doors were locked before they went to their own rooms. Amita was glad to put her make shift nightshirt back on and crawl back into Charlie's bed.

Her head had started to hurt from where she had been hit and she didn't realize how tired she was feeling until her head made contact with the soft pillow. A smile drifted onto her face as she fell asleep and she was comforted by the scent of Charlie that was surrounding her. All too soon however Amita heard the small clock next to the bed beeping, blindly she flung her arm out to silence the alarm. She felt a moment of deja vu, remembering waking up in the same bed the morning before with Charlie.

In silence Amita climbed out of the bed and began to get dressed for the day. She was going to have a long day of teaching but when it was over she was going to go over to visit with Charlie. Breakfast was quiet; a few words were muttered as they passed a plate of pancakes or a pitcher of juice. Once the meal was over Amita said goodbye to Alan and Don and made her way to Cal Sci.

As Amita approached the door to Charlie's office she noticed that it was already opened half way. She was hesitant to go into the room after being attacked the day before. However something told her that it would be all right. Slowly she pushed the door open. With a slow, loud creak the door moved and Amita could see into the room.

The blinds were opened and the bright sunlight was pouring into the room. As usual stacks of papers were randomly placed through out the room. It took a moment until she noticed Larry asleep on two pushed together chairs. "Larry?" Amita asked, a little surprised to find him there.

Larry woke with a start. "Amita… hello."

"Hi Larry… what are you doing?"

"I was just sleeping. I misplaced the keys to my office and it was too late to call anyone who had a spare. Luckily I knew where Charlie hid his spare key." Amita nodded.

"You know Larry you could always stay with one of us. You know that Alan and Charlie don't mind when you stay with them. Or you could stay at my apartment." She offered.

"I might actually take you up on that… these chairs are wreaking havoc with my spine." Larry sighed, standing up and stretching. Amita smiled at him then continued to look for Charlie's lesson plans. She and Larry split up Charlie's classes so that they wouldn't have to cancel any.

The day went by slowly; at least that was how it felt to Amita. As soon as the last class ended and she finished her office hours with the students her books were packed away and another parking spot was made vacant in the faculty lot.

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"Hey." Charlie said, looking over to the door when he heard it open. His smile widened when he saw that it was Amita looking walking into the room.

"Hi there." She smiled back at him, coming to the side of his bed.

"How's it going?" He asked as she leaned down and gave him a kiss on the lips. Charlie moved over a little bit in the bed so that Amita could lie down next to him.

"Long day. How about you? How are you feeling?" Amita asked, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Sore, but other then that alright. The doctor said that I'm healing well and that I should be good to leave in a week or two."

"That's good news." Amita said, lacing her hand with his right hand while the left wrapped around her waist.

"Yup. I'll be glad to get out of here. So was everything alright at the house last night?" Charlie asked.

"It was fine. I stayed in your room." She whispered to him, closing her eyes and resting against him.

"You stayed in my room huh?" He whispered back, pressing a small kiss against her forehead. The two of them dozed off like that and woke up a half an hour later.

"How did classes go today?" Charlie asked in a soft, scratchy voice.

"They… happened." She sighed. "You are very popular on campus though. Everyone's talking about how the mob tried to take Professor Eppes out."

"Oh. Great. That's really how I want to be known around campus."

"Well just be glad that that's the only thing going around."

"Why what else could there be?" Charlie asked in confusion.

"Don didn't tell you?"

"No. Tell me what?"

"Who ever did this to you also had your house bugged. Not just audio either. There was one found in your bedroom." Amita could tell that Charlie had probably turned three shades of red at the thought of them being watched the night before. "Don't worry though. It didn't have a transmitter on it… however they've got it at the FBI which means they'll probably be watching all the footage to find out when they were installed."

Charlie went three more shades of red. "So… do you want to watch Las Vegas?" He asked in his nervous tone as he reached for the remote control. They laid there together for about an hour until the door opened and Don came into the room.

"Hi Don." Amita said, looking up and smiling at Charlie's brother.

"Hey you two." Don said walking to the other side of the bed so that he was standing next to Charlie. "I've got some news for you." It was then that they realized that Don looked a little pale and had a hint of concern in his expression.

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Hmm… I wonder what kind of news Don's got… reviews please.


	8. Chapter 8

Thanks for the reviews and again, sorry for the long delay between chapters, you guys know how it gets with school and work and funerals. It's a crazy world. Well I didn't leave you hanging this time.

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Chapter 8

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"What is it Don?" Amita asked, taking note of his some what nervous demeanor.

"We found the hide out of the guys who did this."

"But?" Charlie interjected.

"But it was cleaned out. If we didn't have prior knowledge of it being one of their spots then there would have been no way to know that they had been there." Don sighed and sat down in the empty seat next to the bed.

"So what's going to happen now?" Amita asked, breaking the silence that had fallen through out the room.

"We've got a few tips for where the new location might be but for right now it's not going to be safe until we catch them. I'm going to have someone stationed outside the door here until these guys are caught. And Amita, I'm going to have an agent with you while you're at school. We're already got someone at the house, it would be a good idea if you stay there for a little bit."

"Alright." Amita agreed. She didn't want to put herself at risk; that was the last thing that Charlie needed right now. "Uh, would you mind it we went by my place a little later though? I need to get some change of clothes."

"No problem." They stayed with Charlie for a few more hours before leaving.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Amita said, climbing off of the bed. There was a sudden loss of warmth when she did this. Charlie smiled at her; his hand was still clasping hers.

"I'll be outside. I'll see you later Charlie." Don said, leaving the room so that they could have a moment alone.

"You okay?" Charlie asked Amita.

"Fine."

"Come here." He smiled, gently pulling her down into a kiss. "I love you."

"I love you too." Amita smiled at him.

"Be careful."

"I will be."

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Outside of the room Don was talking with the agent who was being put on guard at the door of Charlie's room. He looked up just in time to see his brother kissing his girlfriend. Don was glad that the two of them finally seemed to be getting things right. Amita came out into the hallway and waited until he finished giving orders.

The two of them left the hospital and made their way to Don's SUV. The ride to Amita's apartment was spent mostly in silence. Finally it began to get to Don and he felt the need to start some conversation.

"So… are you and Charlie doing okay?" He asked. She had been looking out the window, watching the street lights go by. At the sound of Don's voice she turned to look at him.

"We're doing alright. It's been a weird couple of days but… I think we'll be okay. He told me that he loved me the other night."

"I heard. That's a big step for him…"

"You're telling me." Amita replied with a small laugh. They pulled to a stop outside of her apartment where Don turned off the car. "I'm just going to run up and grab a few things."

"I'll come with you. Can't be too careful… besides I don't think that Charlie would kill me if I let anything happen to you." Amita didn't reply to the last comment he made she just got out of the SUV and waited for Don to come around to where she was waiting on the sidewalk.

They crossed the street to her apartment building and took the two flights of stairs to her floor. Amita pulled out her keys and unlocked the door, pushing it open. "You can have a seat. I'm just going to grab some clothes and stuff." Amita said turning on the lamp next to the couch then heading for her bedroom.

Don wandered around the room. He had never been to her apartment before… although he was sure that Charlie had been. There was a small rack hanging on the wall holding DVDs. All of the math geek must haves were there: A Beautiful Mind and Rain Man. Then others that would be expected from a person involved in Astronomy: Star Wars, Apollo 13, and Serenity. A small laugh escaped Don when he thought of how something so simple as a DVD collection could say so much about someone.

He continued through the living room towards the mantle of the small fireplace. There were a few frames. Some pictures were of, who Don assumed, Amita's family. Then some were of Charlie, Larry, and herself. Some were of just her and Charlie. One in particular was taken outside. Charlie was leaning back against a large red oak tree and Amita was leaning back against him, he could tell that she was taking the picture herself.

"That was from the Cal-Sci faculty retreat. Which was basically just them dropping us off in the woods and hoping we could learn to work as a group. Of course Larry, Charlie, and I conveniently _got lost _so we just hung out most of the trip." Amita said coming up behind Don to see what he had been looking at.

"I remember Charlie mentioning something about that." He said with a nod. "Are you all set?"

"Yup." The two walked to the door. On the way there Amita turned off the lamp and then locked the door behind them. They were just coming out of the apartment building when Don noticed someone moving underneath his SUV. "Don… what?" Amita began when she noticed the legs moving.

"Shh." Don pulled his gun. "Stay right there." He whispered before moving quietly towards the car. Whoever was under the car didn't hear him coming until Don spoke. "Stop what you're doing and come out here."

The man slowly pulled himself out and was met by the barrel of Don's gun. "What are you do…" He didn't finish his question when he noticed the blinking bomb resting on top of the man's chest. A moment later Don noticed the timer counting down and getting closer to zero.

There was hardly any time to respond. "Amita get down!" Don shouted to her. Just as she moved to take cover behind a mailbox there was a loud explosion. There was a small shower of glass raining down the surrounding sidewalk. Amita could feel the tiny shards embedding themselves in her arms.

It was a second later that Amita remembered… "Don?" She called, slowly standing up. "Don?"

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More to come soon. Reviews are awesome so keep them coming please.


	9. Chapter 9

Thanks as always for such enthusiastic (and slightly threatening) reviews. Here's the next chapter, enjoy. And if anyone knows some good Numb3rs Fanfic sites that have CA stories, let me know please.

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Chapter 9

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"Don!" Amita called for a third time.

"Amita." Came his voice, followed by a cough. She stood up and looked over to where the SUV had been sitting previously. Now in it's place was the burning frame of the vehicle.

"Don! Are you alright?" Amita shouted to him as she stood up and ran to where he was lying on the pavement.

"I think so!" Don's ears were ringing from the explosion causing him to shout when he spoke. Don looked down and noticed that Amita's arms were bleeding from where the shards of glass had landed on her. Then he noticed that he had similar cuts on himself. "Amita! Can you call Megan please!"

Amita just nodded, knowing that Don wouldn't be able to hear her unless she shouted back. He pulled out his cell phone and handed it to her.

"Reeves." Amita heard Megan answer.

"Megan it's Amita."

"Amita, what's wrong?"

"You need to get down here. Don and I came by my apartment so I could get some stuff and we came out and someone was attaching a bomb to the bottom of the car…"

"Are you two okay?"

"Yeah, Don just said to call you and have you come down with a team. He was closer to the explosion then I was and is having trouble hearing right now." Amita explained hurriedly.

"Alright. I'll be down there as soon as possible." Amita closed the phone and handed it back to Don.

"What she say?" Don shouted.

"They'll be here in a few minutes!" She replied, speaking louder then usual. Within a few minutes Amita heard sirens and soon saw an ambulance along with some other unmarked cars that she knew to belong to the FBI.

"Amita, Don." Megan and Larry rushed from her black SUV to meet the two who were sitting on the curb of the street. "Are you two alright?"

"Fine!" Don shouted.

"Just a little cut up." Amita said as Larry came up to stand next to her. Neither Don or Amita had noticed how many little cuts had built up on their arms and were shocked to see how much blood had began to dry there.

"Come on, you should have those cuts cleaned up." Larry said, leading Amita towards the ambulance where the paramedics had jumped out of their rig. He knew that Megan was going to need to talk to Don about what happened and figured that Amita didn't want to have to hang around for that.

"What happened Don?" Megan asked as soon as the two professors walked away.

"We came out and I noticed something moving underneath the car. I told Amita to stay back when I got over here I realized someone was half under the car. He rolled out and I notice that he had a cut on the forehead before I noticed the bomb attached to him." Don said, still speaking loudly.

"Wait, how could he have rolled out if he was unconscious?" Megan asked. As soon as the question left her mouth David came over wearing gloves and holding a small box.

"This might explain it. Remote control receiver was rigged up to the bottom of the board the man was on. They probably rolled him out when Don came over and then whoever was controlling it detonated the bomb."

"Did you recognize the man?"

"It was Jason, the informant for the Davin case. They must have found out that he was the one who came to us." Don said as a paramedic came up to him and began to clean his cuts with antiseptic.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Larry asked nervously as he hovered near Amita.

"I'm fine Larry." Amita said with a smile of appreciation. "I really just want to go to sleep at this point."

"It's been a long week hasn't it?" He said in a reflective tone.

"Yes it has." She agreed.

"Megan called Alan on the way over here and he was going to come down." Larry explained. Amita just nodded as Megan and Don made their way over towards them. Before anyone could say anything though they heard Alan calling to them as he rushed across the shattered glass that had scattered the street.

"Are you two alright?" He asked slightly out of breath when he reached them.

"We're fine dad." Don said, not as loud as before, the ringing had finally started to go silent.

"Are you sure?" He asked, looking from his son to Amita.

"Really Alan we're alright."

"Dad, why don't you take Amita home, we'll get her statement later." Don suggested, noticing how vacant Amita's expression had become.

Alan nodded and helped Amita up from where she was sitting at the end of the ambulance. She stopped to pick up her bag of clothes, which was what brought them to her neighborhood in the first place. "I'm going to go with them." Larry said to Megan.

"Alright. I'll get you when I drop Don off." Megan said as Larry followed Alan and Amita.

------------------------------------The Eppes House--------------------------------------------------

"Amita are you sure you don't want anything to eat?" Alan asked, coming out of the kitchen with a tray of sandwiches.

"No thank you Alan, I just need to get some sleep." She replied, picking up her bag and heading up stairs. Walking quietly down the hall to Charlie's room. Like the night before she put on one of his shirts and took out a pair of her own pajama bottoms. Just as she went to get into bed she realized that she was thirsty and left the room again to get a glass of water from the kitchen.

Voices in coming from the living room stopped her though and instead she took a seat at the top of the stairs, managing to stay out of view. "I'm worried about her." She heard Alan confess to Larry.

"I know Alan. I am also worried about what toll this week has been taking on Amita." Larry replied.

"She and Charlie have become closer this past year."

"Yes… I must say it's been most beneficial for Charlie."

"I haven't seen Charlie in such a good mood since his mother passed away."

"She's good for him."

"That she is…" Amita suddenly felt guilty to be listening in on this conversation and crept back up the stairs, completely forgetting about what she had left the room for. Climbing into the bed she slowly fell asleep. Thinking about what Alan and Larry had said. Finally drifting off her mind focused on Charlie again. Tonight, instead of nightmares she had a rather pleasant dream about Charlie and what the future might hold for them. She didn't wake again until the next morning when Alan was knocking on the door.

"Amita, we've got some news…"

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bwhaa haa haa. Reviews please.


	10. Chapter 10

A special note at the end. Yay.

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Chapter 10

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"Amita, we've got some news." Alan said, his expression was unreadable or at least that was how it seemed to her. Being half asleep still didn't help.

"What is it?"

"Don got a call while we were eating breakfast, they think they've found where the men who went after Charlie are. Larry and I were going to head over to the hospital to be with Charlie."

"I'll come with you." Amita said, she had to keep from jumping out of the bed though because all she was wearing under the sheets was one of Charlie's shirts.

"Alright, come down stairs when you're ready." Alan said, closing the door so that Amita could get dressed. Once he had left she got out of bed and began to get ready. She has mixed emotions on what Alan had told her. Incase they didn't catch them again she didn't want to get her hopes up. However if they had found the people who had done this to Charlie…

A few minutes later she was making her way down the stairs and into the living room where Larry and Alan were sitting, contemplating the chessboard. "Morning Amita." Larry said, looking up at her as she came into the room.

"Morning Larry." She replied, sitting down on the couch next to him.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, looking to her arms and finding long sleeves covering the bandages.

"All right. Are you two ready to go then?" Amita replied, looking down at their chess game.

"Yes. I was just trying to find a final move…" Before Larry could continue Amita moved one of his pieces.

"Checkmate." She smiled, standing up and going into the kitchen.

"She really is perfect for Charlie." Alan laughed as soon as she walked away. Larry nodded in agreement as he continued to stare at the chessboard.

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Amita, Larry, and Alan arrived at the hospital to find Charlie sitting up in his bed with a tray of breakfast infront of him.

"Hi guys." Charlie smiled, his gaze lingering on Amita.

"Hello Charles." Larry said. "How are you feeling today?"

"Less like I've been shot." He said, still with a smile on his face. "Where's Don?"

"He's working. They got a new lead after last night." Alan said, sitting in an empty chair while Amita sat down next to Charlie on the bed.

"Last night? What happened last night?" Charlie asked, putting one of his arms around Amita's waist.

Larry, Alan, and Amita all exchanged nervous glances. Finally Alan began to speak. "Well Don took Amita over to her apartment to get some clothes. When they came out of the building Don saw someone moving under his car. He was attaching a bomb."

"A bomb?" Charlie looked to Amita.

"Yeah… it went off as soon as we got out there." Amita explained.

"Did anyone get hurt?"

"Don had a little trouble hearing, he was closer to the explosion then I was. We both got cuts from the glass from the windows." Charlie looked at his girlfriend. There weren't any cuts that he could see; it was then that his focus moved to her covered arms.

"Hey, could I have a moment with Amita?" Charlie asked suddenly.

"Sure. Come on Larry we'll go find something white in the cafeteria." Alan said opening the door. Larry nodded and followed Alan out of the room.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine Charlie, really." She pulled up her sleeves to show him. "The bandages make them look worse."

"I am so sorry that you keep getting dragged into this." Charlie said, taking hold of one of her hands, his eyes still examining the white gauze that was covering her tanned skin.

"Charlie it isn't your fault…"

"It is. I've been thinking about this… maybe I should stop consulting for the FBI, it's putting too many people I love at risk."

"You can't stop consulting. Charlie think of all the good you've done. All the good you can still do. This is really the first time any of us have been brought into it. Charlie you can't give this up."

"I don't know what I would do if anything ever happened to you." He confessed, pressing a small kiss to her hand.

"So you'll continue to consult?" She smiled at him.

"Yes. But if anything like this happens again I'm done."

"Fair enough." They shared a small kiss before the door reopened and Alan peaked in, asking if they could come back in. When they re-entered Don and Megan followed behind Alan and Larry.

"Hey guys, how did it go?" Amita asked.

"Well…" Don began.

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Next chapter will be coming soon. So my special note. I just want to thank everyone who has been reading. This story has reached 12000 plus hits, which is incredibly new for me and quite a change from the couple hundred or so that I'm used to seeing. So again thanks so much.

On a side note: Charlie in his pajamas? Anyone else completely fan girl over that? Dogs with in a five mile radius went deaf I was giggling in such a high-pitched tone. There really is a God… and he's a Numb3rs fan.

--Sara


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

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"We got a lead from the explosion last night. The man that the bomb was strapped to was a man who used to be involved with the family. He defected from them and started to bring us information. That's how we had so much for you to work with Charlie." Don said, stopping to gage what his brother's current mood was. When Don got to the hospital his father told him that Amita was in explaining the events of the night before.

"So it was hitting two birds with one stone having him attached to the bomb that was supposed to take you out." Alan said, offering the analogy.

"Yeah. Well there's only one member of the Davin family who would be malicious enough to strap an active bomb to a living person. John Davin, he was also the one who attacked you Amita."

"How did you know where to find him?" Amita asked, she was still seated next to Charlie on his bed.

"Surveillance, we've had teams watching every key member of the Davin family."

"Did you have any trouble bringing him in?" Charlie was watching his brother carefully. He knew that Don was having some trouble with this case because of everything that has been happening.

"Not really. He knew that there was no way he was going to get away with this." Before any conversation could continue Charlie's doctor opened the door and entered the room.

"Professor Eppes, you're a popular man aren't you?" The doctor smiled, almost every time he came to check on Charlie there was someone sitting and chatting with him. "Well I've got good news, you can go home tomorrow." Charlie smiled at this. He was beginning to get tired of being in the hospital bed. All he wanted was to get back into his usual routine again. Amita smiled at him, squeezing his hand.

"I must suggest that you get some sleep though Professor. Wouldn't want you collapsing on your way out tomorrow." The doctor suggested, turning to leave.

"Thanks doctor." Charlie said as he left the room.

"Well, we should get going then." Alan smiled at his son. "We'll be back tomorrow morning to get you Charlie."

"See you then dad." He replied happily. Slowly Charlie's friends and family left the room until it was just he and Amita again.

"You okay?" Charlie asked her.

"Yeah. I'm just glad that this is all over. It's been a long couple of days." She said, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"I know. I'm glad it's over too… this whole thing… it's really made me think. I love you Amita and I never want to loose you." He said, shifting so that he could see her.

"Charlie?"

"I'm not asking to rush into anything but maybe something slow? Maybe you move into the house with me?" Amita smiled.

"I think I would like that."

"You would?"

"Yes I would. I love you Charlie."

"I love you too." They shared a sweet kiss. "I'll see you tomorrow okay?"

"Okay." Charlie smiled; they shared another kiss before she left the room. He continued to smile through out the night, even when he fell asleep. In the morning he would get to go home and Amita would be coming to live with him. Things finally felt like they were getting back to normal.

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All right, one more chapter to come.

Montez – dude your comment about seeing Charlie with a girl for a change seriously made me laugh so hard… because it is so true. Heehee.

Thanks all for the reviews.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

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The next morning Charlie was released from the hospital, with the strict understanding that he should take it easy for the next few days. Charlie agreed to follow the instructions mainly because he wanted to get out of the bed he had been in for the past week. Amita and Alan arrived to take him home. They were in the car on their way back to the house when Charlie realized that his dad probably didn't know about Amita moving in yet.

"Dad what would you think about having another person living at the house with us?" Charlie asked, looking over at Amita and smiling.

"We already have another person living in the house with us. You'd think that Don didn't have an apartment of his own." Alan said with an amused laugh.

Charlie and Amita laughed as well. "Actually, I didn't mean Don."

"Well who… Amita?" They pulled up to a red light and Alan took the opportunity to look back at his son who was sitting in the back seat with his arm around his girlfriend. "I think we could use a woman in the house." Charlie and Amita smiled at each other, glad that they have Alan's blessing.

Once they returned to the house Charlie disappeared upstairs to take a nap. He was still tired and weak but it felt nice to be in his own bed again. While Charlie was doing that Amita and Alan settled into a game of chess in the living room.

"What's on your mind?" Alan asked, noticing that Amita was rather quiet.

"Are you sure you don't mind me moving in here?"

"Amita…" Alan hesitated for a moment. "I don't mind you moving in. This house has seemed empty since Margaret passed away. Having a woman in the house again will be a nice change. You are a member of this family and I am happy to have you here. And I'm willing to bet that Charlie is even happier that you agreed to move in."

"Thanks Alan… I'm going to go check on Charlie, make sure he's feeling okay." Amita said, standing up. Alan just nodded as he stood as well.

"I'm going to get dinner started."

Amita climbed the stairs and made her way to the closed bedroom door. She found Charlie lying on the bed. After closing the door again she crossed the room and lay down with him.

"Hi." He mumbled, putting an arm around waist.

"Hi. How are you feeling?"

"Better now that you're here." Amita smiled.

"You're dad is starting dinner. Are you hungry?"

"Very. I'm sick of hospital food… we're going to have to get a bigger bed." Charlie observed. The two of them were able to fit on the bed however it was rather tight.

"I guess we will." She agreed holding on to his upper arm rather firmly.

"Are _you_ okay?"

"I'm just making sure that you're really here. I had nightmares… you would be with me when I went to sleep and I would wake up and you were gone… I can't handle another nightmare Charlie." Amita spoke softly but Charlie could hear the dread in her voice, the fear that she had been feeling over the past few weeks.

"Amita." He slid his hand under her chin and tilted it up so that they were looking directly at each other. "I love you and there is nothing in this world that could keep me away from you… when I was shot… all I thought about was you." Before Charlie could say anything else Amita moved forward, pushing her lips against his.

"I love you too Charlie." She whispered before they began another kiss.

They stayed like that for a few minutes until Alan called up stairs, letting them know that dinner was ready. After dinner was over Charlie and Amita took care of the dishes while Alan disappeared upstairs.

When Alan returned to the living room he found the two curled up on the couch. Charlie was leaning against the arm of the couch reading the newspaper and Amita was reading a book, her head resting on a pillow in Charlie's lap. Alan sat down in one of the chairs nearby, picking up his crossword puzzle and putting on his reading glasses.

The room was quiet, everything was calm… at last. An hour or so later Amita sat up and put her book down on the coffee table. "I'm going to head up to bed." She said to Charlie.

"Okay. I'll be up in a little bit." Amita just nodded tiredly and made her way up the stairs to the room she now shared with Charlie. Once he heard the door close upstairs Alan put down his crossword and looked at his son.

"I want to talk to you about something Charlie."

"What is it dad?" He replied, putting down the paper he had been reading.

"It's about Amita… I just want to let you know that should you ever need it… I have your mother's engagement ring. She wanted me to save it for when one of you boys found someone."

"I don't think that we're ready for that yet but thanks dad. I'll keep that in mind for when the time comes."

"Well I hope you'll act a little quicker then you have in the past. If there is one thing that can come from this whole ordeal is that time is something precious and that you can't waste it."

"Believe me, I'm aware of that." Charlie nodded. "I'm going to head up to bed… night dad."

"Night Charlie, it's good to have you home."

"It's good to be home." Quietly Charlie climbed the stairs and walked down the hall to their bedroom. Amita was already in bed she was lying with the sheets kicked down. The light on the nightstand was turned off, he could make out her bare legs and that she was wearing one of his t-shirts to sleep in.

He was careful to be quiet as he took off his slacks and t-shirt. It wasn't until he had climbed into bed next to her that he realized she was still awake.

"I missed you." Charlie sighed as she curled up next to him.

"I missed you too." Amita replied sleepily. The two drifted off, however all the while the only thing that was on Charlie's mind was the simple gold ring that his mother used to wear, the small diamond that gleamed proudly. Maybe someday… someday.

Fin.

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That's all for this story. I hope you all have enjoyed it and I'll try and get a little followed up started. Thanks so much for all the reviews, nothing makes a writer feel better then fantastic readers who review. You see what I'm getting at here?

--Mistress Sara


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